Memory of a Growing Love
by olehoncho
Summary: Shino goes through his closet and each old piece of clothing carries a memory. Memories of the girl he grew to love.  Shino x Hana


This was the day, but it was only one of many. Shino finished writing on the last page of his journal and opened the chest he kept under his bed. Each journal was a volume of a year in his life. For obvious reasons he had been unable to write the first five journals, so his mother had done those. He would often turn to those when he was in need of strength. The entries in the older journals did have embarrassing events, but his mother recorded her hopes for his life, lessons that would help him once he was old enough, and a great deal of common sense and advice.

Each day was a gift, there was always something important happening, and Shino never wanted to miss that. For a moment he thought about his beloved team mates, Inuzuka Kiba and Hyuuga Hinata. They each had remarkable powers of observation, but at times he felt their vision and senses limited. For certain they each saw things in different ways, but Shino felt that life is not in the measuring and calculating of details; rather it was in the personal application of those details.

Closing the chest, he locked it shut and slid it back under his bed. He remembered the days after Pain's invasion of Konoha, and the days he spent looking for it. After two days of searching it was found under an overturned bathtub on the other side of town from where the Aburame residence was.

Standing up Shino walked to the closet and opened it. Today felt like a day of remembrance, so he opened the closet all the way. In sealed storage bags were clothes from when he was a babe, blankets he had used, even old shoes. The Aburame were not pack rats, but they did not believe in being wasteful; a lesson learned from the insect kingdom.

That's not to say Shino didn't throw anything away. In his time many things had been thrown away or mended and given to Konoha's goodwill organizations. Each item that remained was important. He lifted a sandal with a broken strap and remembered his foot bleeding. The child was a careless class mate who did not pay attention to the lecture on hidden traps. His actions had injured his foot, but it had saved his class mate's leg. The kid dropped out later that term, but he and Shino were still friends.

A shirt Shino had worn on a rainy day when he was six. That day was marked as one of the biggest rainstorms in Konoha's history. Shino had been out late and got caught in it. He remembered an older girl taking his hand and bringing him to a hospital where he developed a fever. She refused to leave his room; saying defiantly, "He's my patient!"

His first pair of sunglasses rested on a high shelf. Given to him the day after he had the kikaichu put into his body. His father told him that one of the side effects to the operation would be light sensitivity. Though some students avoided Shino after that, he remembered a pleasant conversation where an older girl asked him if it hurt. The pain was no more intense than nights when a child feels their bones grow. She smiled and said she just doesn't like to see anyone hurt.

Hers was a face Shino saw often, but not too often. A face that always made him smile inside, even if his outside reaction was only a slight curve of his mouth. He let his fingers touch the plastic covering of an old jacket. It was one he started wearing when he was eight. The day he had asked his dad to buy it for him stood in his memory. Not wearing jackets before then, he did not understand why his family wore those large jackets. And though later on he understood the reasoning about protecting the holes the kikaichu would swarm from, Shino quietly chuckled about the reason why he started wearing it.

The day was particularly clear in his memory. His arms itched, because the kikaichu were expanding their colony by building along Shino's chakra network. Coming in from the grove of trees behind school, he saw Naruto sitting by himself. Other parents told their children to keep away from Naruto, but Shino's father Shibi only looked sad and would lead Shino away. But that day Shibi was late.

Shino decided to wait in front of school where he sat scratching his arms by himself. Only as it turned out he was not by himself. As he turned his head, there she was. Sitting on the bench next to him, looking at him as one might look at a freshly dumped puzzle. The red marks on her cheeks seemed to glow, but Shino knew that was a result of the light's rays partly obscured by the school's roof. That didn't stop from unconsciously saying "Pretty" aloud.

The girl blushed, and turned as she got up. She ran over to where her brother came out of school. Before leaving, she turned and blew a kiss at Shino. Never before had Shino's face felt so hot. He had seen other kids blush before, but had never experienced it himself. The sensation of embarrassment was quite potent and he asked his dad to buy a jacket on the way home. A coat with a high collar that he could zip up to cover his face.

Back in his closet, Shino pulled out his old jacket. He remembered this one well from his teenage years, and once again the day he bought it was particular in his memory. A few days before his fourteenth birthday he was celebrating with his team mates after a successful mission. While waiting for their order at the restaurant to arrive, Kiba's sister came in and sat down next to Shino in the booth. She mentioned something about Kiba's mother wanting to see him right away, which forced Shino to stand up and allow Kiba to exit. As he stood up he felt her hand on his back, a simple, gentle touch. What happened next was more surprising. For before they left, she smiled and mussed Shino's hair with her hands. It was quick, but it nearly turned into a scalp massage before she was through.

"Sorry Shino, I always wanted to do that to your hair." With a laugh she ran off after he brother. Shino went out and bought a new jacket, one with a hood he could cover his head with. Some thought nothing of it, writing it off as "Aburame style" but the real reason Shino bought it was to prevent anyone else from doing that to his hair. For some reason her touch was special.

He suddenly became aware that he was scratching his head, and he smiled. The next one in his closet was in a much more secure garment bag. Unzipping it Shino saw his old Chuunin flak jacket. A curiosity struck him as he did not remember if he had emptied all the pockets or not. Inside the jacket he felt a clink, and opening it he saw the forehead protector marked with the Shinobi symbol from the war. Bringing the vest out of the closet he felt the need to see the reason why this particular item was so important once more. A large gash cut across the back of the vest, nearly slicing all the way through.

The Zetsu were a swarm, their claws sharp, their numbers endless, and their brutality unquestioned. For a madman shouting for world peace, Madara had brought a truly frightening war. Hana and her pack were surrounded, but they watched each other's backs, a testament to their team work. An explosion shook the ground and members of the division went flying. Lying on the ground, Hana nor the Haimaru brothers could defend themselves from the approaching Zetsu. All of Shino's calculation and collected reserve shattered as he jumped into the fray and tore the white devils apart with his kunai, the center of his own swarm, feeding on the profane white flesh. One dug its way around Shino and leaped at Hana, but Shino was faster. Its strike slashed at Shino's back, but it was devoured by the kikaichu.

Hana woke up moments later, Shino's arms cradling her. Another jacket in the closet also held a memory of her in his arms. A brown formal jacket that he would wear on evening out on the town. No longer hiding his face or hair, it was the jacket of a mature man, not a boy. Shino and Hana had gone as part of a delegation to Suna. That night they went out on the town and enjoyed the nightlife of the desert city. The calm music, the food brought out in red conical containers, a night under the stars and desert sky. There was a power curfew in Suna for a reason this night. It was the memorial anniversary of the war, to honor those who died. And on each rooftop shadows were seen of lovers holding each other and looking at the stars. Hana felt so natural in Shino's arms. Her lipstick smeared against the collar of his jacket, but Shino didn't mind. He raised her face with his hand and they kissed in the moonlight.

The lipstick stain was still there. Shino touched it before reaching the last item in his closet. A knock at the door told him that his father had arrived.

"Are you almost ready son? You have a busy day ahead of you."

"Yes dad, just going through some old memories." Shino said as his father entered the room.

Shibi crossed the room and placed his hand on Shino's shoulder. A small smile appeared on his father's mouth as he nodded and said, "I'll be waiting downstairs."

The black suit had a stain of red dust on the right knee from where Shino had knelt the day she said yes. Turning to his bed Shino saw the next piece of clothing that would hang in his closet, the traditional black haori embroidered with the Aburame Clan symbols. Later this day Shino knew there would be grass stains from the meadow where he and Hana would kneel and share their vows at the forest Shrine. A lifetime of memories, a lifetime of details, a lifetime to share with the one he loved. Every day is a precious gift, and this day was no exception.


End file.
